“Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers, you cannot be successful or happy.” Norman Vincent Peale

Study the stories of all great achievers and you are sure to find that they were driven by faith, even when facing their toughest challenges. The term ‘faith’ has religions connotations, certainly, but it can also be used more broadly. Having faith means having complete trust in a person or thing. It can also mean being able to visualise and believe that we can attain what we deeply desire.To succeed in anything, we need to have faith in ourselves and in the bigger picture. For some, this may be a higher power, others may see it as their mission or destiny.

Faith in yourself

You don’t need to be a loud extrovert to prove that you have confidence in yourself. If you truly believe in what you want to achieve, it will show in your face and in everything you do. That doesn’t mean you must have an unrealistic sense of optimism or that you are blind to potential risks. It simply means that you have assessed the situation and are calmly confident you can manage whatever comes your way.

If you do suffer from a lack of confidence at times, it may help you to:·List all your skills, experience and achievements. Focus on the things you do well.· Think back to a similar situation in the past and at the steps you took to reach your goal.· Surround yourself with inspirational people. This could include finding a mentor, joining a group with similar interests or reading books about successful people.

Faith in the bigger picture

“A small body of determined spirits fired by an unquenchable faith in their mission can alter the course of history.” Mahatma Gandhi

To have faith in any venture, it is important to know and understand why you are doing it. It doesn’t matter if it is following your own dream, committing to that of your employer or being part of a bigger movement.

When you don’t understand, or believe in, the motive behind the venture, you are unlikely to be devoted to achieving its goals. However, when the objectives are clear and you are passionate about them, you will move mountains to achieve them.

To help you understand your ‘why’, ask yourself:·What are the changes that achieving this goal will bring about?· Does this goal align with my personal values?· Who benefits when this goal is achieved?· How will I feel if this goal is not achieved?· Am I prepared to accept the challenges along the way?

Visualise it

To maintain motivation when pursuing your goal, it helps to be able to ‘see’ it clearly in your mind. How you do this is up to you but here are some suggestions.

· Create a dream board where you can cut and paste images of things that help to define the successful achievement of your goal. For example, if your goal is to start a retail business, find images of store designs you like, add drawings of your product, maybe even include photos of the area you’d like your shop to be in.·Every day, set aside a few minutes to close your eyes and ‘see’ yourself achieving your goal. Include as much detail as you can. Who will be with you? Where will you be? How will you feel when you get there?

Visualising goals helps you associate them with emotions and emotions are powerful motivators. Being able to recall your vision even in the darkest moments, will reinforce your faith in what you are trying to achieve.

Strategies like these have been used by everyone from Olympic athletes and early explorers to those overcoming disabilities and pushing to change unfair laws. They can work for you, too.

Believe it

A simple test to help you decide if you really have faith in something is to listen to your body. What do you feel so passionate about that it makes your very core tingle? What puts a fire in your belly?

What about your gut instinct? Intuition is a powerful tool that can help us choose our path.

Many people find that taking time out just to relax and be ‘in the moment’ helps them become more receptive to the messages their body is telling them. Walking, meditating, listening to music or doing something creative are all useful ways to help re-establish the natural link between mind and body.

Give it all you have got

Finally, to see your dreams come to fruition, you need to commit to them completely. Forget the backup plan. That becomes a security blanket that it can be too hard to let go of. Instead, work out your strategies, allow for some flexibility and just dive in and go for it.

“Do. Or do not. There is no try.”Yoda – The Empire Strikes Back

Call to action…

To hear more about how faith leads to success, listen to an inspiring podcast with Brad Smith on The Mentor List website. Brad is an Australian entrepreneur, champion motocross rider and motivational speaker. Brad shares his story, beginning with his business ventures as a 15-year old, his challenges with building Australia’s only motorcycle company and his plans for the future as he turns 30.

Kick start your personal journey to success from the conversations David has with his inspirational guests on The Mentor List.www.mentorlist.com.au/brad